Scotmid has donated 100 Pet Aid boxes to the Scottish SPCA’s initiative to support people and pets who are struggling during the cost-of-living crisis.
The boxes include essential food and care supplies for animals in need and are provided through a network of 33 foodbanks across Scotland.
In 2022, calls to the Scottish SPCA more than trebled. Most people give up their pets as a very last resort, when they feel there is no other option, with the decision often linked to the cost of looking after them.
Scottish SPCA was Scotmid’s 2018/19 charity partner. The leading Scottish community retailer still describes the charity as “part of the Scotmid family” and has continued to support their initiatives.
Shirley MacGillivray, Scotmid Head of Membership & Community, said: “We recognise the importance of pets to our physical and mental wellbeing, so keeping them safe and connected with their owners is something we are proud to support. Our friends at Scottish SPCA continue do incredible work supporting the welfare of animals – and their owners – through the most difficult times. We are glad to be able to help them.”
The City Art Centre, Edinburgh, dedicated to championing historic and contemporary Scottish visual arts and crafts, announces an exciting range of exhibitions for 2023.
All shows, except the Peter Howson retrospective in the summer, will be free to attend. Further information on the individual exhibitions, including a varied public events programme, will be announced later in the year.
When the Apple Ripens: Peter Howson at 65 A Retrospective 27 May – 1 October 2023, £8.50/ £6.50
A major retrospective of works by Peter Howson, one of the UK’s leading figurative painters. The exhibition will bring together around 100 works spanning the artist’s career, many never seen before in Scotland.
Howson has established a formidable reputation in the art world. His heroic portrayals of the mighty and the lowly confront subjects of human conflict and destruction that offer a penetrating insight into the human condition.
His experiences of abuse – whether self-inflicted and substance-related, or the traumatic events of his childhood – have moulded his world view and afforded him an affinity with individuals on the margins of society.
The City Art Centre has been planning the exhibition since 2019, working closely with Howson and his London representatives Flowers Gallery. Howson has previously shown at the City Art Centre, when his critically acclaimed solo exhibition devoted to Scotland’s patron saint Andrew was displayed in 2007.
Emerging from Glasgow School of Art in the 1980s, Howson quickly proved his skill of capturing the maverick, the excessive, the non-conformist and his own personal understanding of the struggles of everyday life.
In 1992 he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to record the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. He was appointed official British war artist for Bosnia in 1993 and in 1996 was awarded Doctor of Letters at The University of Strathclyde. His work is included in numerous national and international museum collections.
Shifting Vistas: 250 Years of Scottish Landscape 24 June 2023 – 2 June 2024, Free Entry
For centuries, the Scottish landscape has provided artists with a potent source of inspiration. From scenes of mountains and forests to images of lochs and coastlines, the natural world attracts a range of creative responses.
Urban views of towns and cities prompt equally varied interpretations, as artists explore how people have shaped their surroundings. Today our relationship with the landscape has taken on further significance, with environmental concerns over climate change and loss of biodiversity.
Shifting Vistas: 250 Years of Scottish Landscape addresses this ever-evolving subject, with a selection of historic and contemporary artworks drawn from the City Art Centre’s permanent collection of fine art.
Spanning artistic production from the 18th century to present day, it includes paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures by artists such as Alexander Nasmyth, John Lavery, SJ Peploe, William Gillies, Joan Eardley and Victoria Crowe.
The exhibition also features several recent additions to the collection, on display for the first time.
The Scottish Landscape Awards 4 November 2023 – 3 March 2024, Free Entry
The City Art Centre is thrilled to host the inaugural exhibition of Scotland’s newest open call in contemporary art – The Scottish Landscape Awards.
Presented by the Scottish Arts Trust, the awards are open to artists born, living or studying in Scotland, and for works in any media including but not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, animation, photography, installation, film and video, multi-media, and virtual reality landscapes.
With a first prize of £10,000, the exhibition will be curated by and the prize-winners chosen by a distinguished panel of judges including Barbara Rae (chair), David Mach, Jane and Louise Wilson, Ade Adesina and Marian Leven.
Reflecting all dimensions of natural and/or man-made environments whether imaginary, surreal, abstract, documentary, ecological or realistic, selected works will push the boundaries of what contemporary landscape art is. The resulting exhibition will showcase the breadth and diversity of innovative contemporary creativity in Scotland today.
Deep Rooted 18 November 2023 – 25 February 2024, Free Entry
Our relationship with the natural world hangs in a balance, with climate change and large-scale deforestation threatening the existence of our biodiversity. For many of us, the pandemic changed our relationship with nature.
It led to a growing appreciation of our gardens, allotments, woods, and public parks and the temporary reduction of traffic brought about the fleeting return of audible birdsong. Lockdowns particularly, reminded us just how important access to nature is for our physical and mental wellbeing and therefore something worth protecting.
Deep Rooted features work by six leading contemporary artists. Together, they explore the relationship between people and the natural environment using a variety of media and approaches.
Some of the works reflect on current ecological issues and urge for action, others explore our fragile relationship with the natural world or simply capture its beauty. All the works on display act as a reminder of the importance of valuing nature and in particular trees, which sustain our and other species’ existence.
In order to help fight this urgent climate crisis, we need to change some of our deep-rooted behaviours.
Councillor Val Walker, Edinburgh’s Convener of Culture and Communities said: “2023 looks set to be another fantastic year at the City Art Centre. There are many highlights throughout the year beginning in Spring with Peter Howson at 65. One of the most respected artists of his generation, we are very proud and excited that the City Art Centre will host this major study of his work.
“Later in the year we’ll explore the wonderful landscapes of Scotland through two unique exhibitions. The first of which will showcase how they have evolved over the last 250 years. We’re also delighted to host the inaugural exhibition of Scotland’s newest open call in contemporary art – The Scottish Landscape Awards.
“I’m very much looking forward to Deep Rooted in the winter, where the works of six contemporary artists will be brought together to explore our relationship as humans with the natural world. With climate change the most pressing cause of our time, this display is sure to question how we can change our deep-rooted behaviours for the good of the future.”
“The City Art Centre is one of the most accessible places in Edinburgh for art lovers, with five packed floors of exhibitions and a popular events programme and I would encourage everyone to pay us a visit.”
PAUL DUKE’s ‘No Ruined Stone’ Muirhouse photography exhibition runs until 19 Feb.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Lothian, Miles Briggs, has expressed “deep concern” over addresses that have been “red flagged” to ambulance staff across Scotland.
The concern comes amid reports that nearly 450 addresses have been identified as being “red flagged” for ambulance staff – whereby Scottish Ambulance Staff are not allowed to enter without the presence of police.
A Freedom of Information Request submitted by the Scottish Conservatives revealed the shocking statistics.
The highest number of red flagged addresses come with Glasgow and Edinburgh postcodes, with 107 and 83 addresses identified in these areas, respectively.
In the EH postcode area, the freedom of information request revealed that 83 warnings had been identified.
Mr. Briggs has highlighted concerns over the figures and has expressed doubt of how police and ambulance staff may link up, given that, under the SNP, police officer numbers in Scotland are at their lowest level for 15 years.
Mr. Briggs says that one attack on an emergency service worker in Lothian is one too many and more action must be taken to keep them safe.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP Miles Briggs said: “These figures are deeply concerning.
“This is a significant number of addresses that have been red-flagged in Lothian for our dedicated ambulance staff who are putting themselves at risk for others on a daily basis.
“One attack on any ambulance worker in Lothian is one too many.
“This is a direct result of the SNP slashing local budgets and gutting the police service across the country.
“With police officer numbers at their lowest number since 2008 across Scotland, I am also concerned that they may not be able to easily link up with ambulance crews when called upon at a particular address.
“It is clear from the number of addresses that have been red-flagged in Lothian that more needs to be done to keep our ambulance staff safe, which includes handing out hefty punishments to those found to have assaulted them while they are on duty.
“At the very least, frontline staff in Lothian should be reassured that they can go about their work without serious risk of injury from members of the public.”
What are the barriers that disabled people face in finding their ideal job is the question that MSPs on the Economy and Fair Work Committee will be asking as part of work into the issue.
Statistics show that people with a disability in Scotland have a lower employment rate than non-disabled people. The Scottish Government also has a target to half the disability employment gap by 2038 within the Fairer Scotland for disabled people – employment action plan. This work will try and identify what barriers exist and what more can be done to help disabled people and employers.
Claire Baker MSP, Convener of the Economy and Fair Work Committee said: “There have been some really good examples of where employers have put in place measures to make sure that everyone, regardless of their background, is able to get and keep a job.
“But we know that this is unfortunately not the case for every disabled person who is actively looking for employment.
“We want to hear directly from people about these barriers and what more we as policymakers can do to help make looking for a job a more equitable experience for everyone.”
The Committee is asking for those interested in this issue to give us their views. We’ll be asking for views on the following issues:
What progress has been made to reduce and remove barriers faced by disabled people to access Scotland’s labour market?
What are the remaining challenges, and why has progress been difficult?
What policy measures would you like to see to support disabled people and employers to increase participation rates?
What has been the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on disabled people’s experience of the labour market?
Edinburgh most liveable UK city, reveals ECA’s global ranking
Bern, Switzerland lands first place position for quality of life, after Copenhagen’s three-year reign at the top
Rotterdam, Netherlands enters top 10 most liveable cities in the world for European expats for the first time, overtaking Dublin (11th)
Canada back on destination ‘hit list’, outperforming European locations London, Barcelona and Berlin
All 15 ranked Chinese cities plummet due to Zero-Covid restrictions throughout 2022
Scottish cities are among the most attractive in the UK as Edinburgh ranks 17th and Aberdeen 21st most liveable in the world
The quality of life for European expats in Australian cities is back to pre-pandemic status, while all 15 ranked cities in China have fallen down the liveability ranking, according to the latest annual Location Ratings Report from global mobility expert, ECA International (ECA).
Bern is the most liveable city in the world for European expats, while improved availability of expatriate housing has aided Rotterdam, Netherlands (8th) in climbing five places to enter the top 10 most desirable locations.
ECA’s Location Ratings objectively evaluate cities around the world to form an assessment of the overall quality of living for expats in over 500 locations across the globe. The ranking is based on a variety of liveability factors including availability of health services; housing and utilities; isolation; access to a social network and recreational and leisure facilities; infrastructure; climate; personal safety; socio-political tensions and air quality.
Most Canadian cities have performed well in this year’s ranking, making Canada the most appealing non-European country for European expats. Toronto (23rd), Vancouver (32nd) and Montreal (36th) all outperformed European destinations Berlin (37th), London (39th), Paris (42nd) and Barcelona (51st) despite geographical distance from Europe.
Neil Ashman, Senior Location Ratings Analyst at ECA International, said: “Canada continues to rank highly since pandemic restrictions were removed. For instance, Toronto’s ban on inside-dining was among the longest worldwide, which contributed to the city falling out of the top 20 most liveable locations in the world.
“Pandemic controls in Canada were very strict, upending thousands of expatriates’ lives. However, the removal of these restrictions in Toronto and elsewhere has unsurprisingly made the country more liveable for Europeans. Praised for its multi-culturalism, exceptional infrastructure and healthcare system, Canada is a renowned favourite for European expats.”
Australia is once again among the top-ranking countries in the world for quality of life thanks to the lifting of Covid-19 related restrictions on recreational facilities and international travel. Ending some of the toughest pandemic rules in the world in 2022, New Zealand’s Auckland (47th) makes a return to the top 50, after falling from 33rd place to 58th in 2021. Melbourne (55th) and Canberra (52nd) leapt up 11 and 10 places, respectively – reclaiming their position as familiar favourites for European expats. Likewise, Adelaide (59th), Perth and Sydney (tied 74th) climbed 7 and 6 places.
At the time of analysis*, China’s Zero-Covid policy rendered most Chinese cities considerably less liveable for European expats. Falling by 16 places from last year’s ranking, Shanghai (159th) saw the biggest drop in liveability after Ukraine and Russia, the lowest it has ranked. Beijing follows a similar path, down six places in 2022 and landing 168th place. Other Chinese locations to see the next biggest drop were Zhengzhou (240th), Xi’an (202nd), and Tianjin (joint 197th with Wuhan), which dropped 10, 9 and 8 places respectively.
Hong Kong’s liveability also declined in 2022.
Ashman said: “Increasingly aligned with mainland China, Hong Kong’s appointment of a staunchly pro-Beijing figure to the post of Chief Executive in 2022 has further threatened democratic processes in the city.
“While political rights and freedom of expression will continue to be at risk in 2023, both in Hong Kong and in mainland China, we would expect to see some reversal of these falls in the rankings next year if the lifting of draconian Covid-19 policies, as of December 2022, is maintained.”
Once on par with Moscow, quality of life in war-torn Ukraine sees unparalleled decline
Kyiv, Ukraine’s ranking declined by 67 places, the most dramatic deterioration of any city in the history of ECA International’s Location Ratings, following Russia’s invasion in early 2022.
Unsurprisingly, the personal safety and socio-political tension categories are the most significant contributors to Kyiv’s lower liveability in the past year, while a lack of civilian international flights, affecting the external isolation score, and risk to mental health are also major factors for European expats.
Shortages of certain items, a disrupted energy infrastructure and reduced expatriate community are also contributing factors. Now ranking 223rd, ECA has moved Kyiv into a higher location allowance band, which global mobility teams utilise when setting salary packages for international assignments.
Ashman continued: “While we’ve often analysed countries where conflict has recently erupted, the immediate impact of these conflicts on a city’s liveability ranking tended to be less pronounced because socio-political tensions existed for a number of years beforehand, and living conditions were already at a significant disadvantage.
“Ukraine’s situation is less common because of its positive trajectory in the immediate years ahead of Russia’s invasion. In fact, Kyiv ranked 155th in 2020, higher than St Petersburg as well as Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and it scored well for external accessibility and near-top marks for expatriate community pre-invasion.
“Kyiv’s rank at 223rd is now comparable to other locations that are experiencing conflict, like Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (255th), a dramatic drop from previous years. The war’s impact on overall liveability has been more pronounced in Kyiv with the biggest score decline we’ve recorded. Kyiv’s trajectory pre-war seemed likely to follow that of its Eastern European counterparts, who are today enjoying higher positions in the rankings owing to years of positive growth and investment,” Ashman added.
Eastern European destinations Tbilisi, Georgia (138th) and Warsaw, Poland (80th) are up in the liveability ranking this year, rising by 12 and seven places respectively, higher than even pre-COVID years when Tbilisi ranked 176th and Warsaw ranked 84th (2019). Despite ongoing conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, infrastructure and access to healthcare are better now in both cities than two years ago, and the easing of Covid restrictions has also contributed to greater liveability.
Expats in Russia face hostility and serious mental health challenges
Sanctions have negatively impacted access to banking and availability of healthcare and medicine in Moscow (186th) and St Petersburg (189th), Russia – which have both fallen by a whopping 41 and 35 places respectively from last year’s ranking. Russia’s tightened grip on freedom of expression, increased propaganda and surveillance has caused the expat community to diminish, while those who remain in Russian territory report difficult conditions and increased risks to mental health.
Ashman added: “While there is currently little threat from bombs and missiles to expatriates in Russian cities, major sanctions on Russia has led to a shortage of goods, including aeroplane parts for domestic flights, which affects internal isolation.
“We have also noticed expatriates are more conscious of the impact on their mental health, many experiencing hostility from the authorities and even the local population. Expatriates have reported that they try to keep a low profile, in some cases not speaking out loud in public in case their foreign accent is detected.”
Access to ECA’s Location Ranking data helps businesses ascertain appropriate allowances to compensate employees for the adjustment required when going on international assignment, taking into account both the home and host locations of the expatriate.
How the top 20 most liveable locations for European expatriates have changed over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic
The Government response to the Women and Equalities Committee report on menopause and the workplace is a “missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce.”
Published today, the UK Government’s response rejects five of the Committee’s recommendations outright, including the recommendation to consult on making menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 and pilot a specific menopause leave policy.
In a letter to Health Minister Maria Caulfield, the Chair of the Committee Caroline Nokes expressed concern that the Government has “ignored the significant evidence base” for equality law reform and called on the Government to review its position.
The Committee also highlights the low cost but high impact opportunities for model workplace menopause policies and menopause leave, which the Government has dismissed.
In the letter, the Committee highlighted it was “extremely disappointing that the Menopause Taskforce has not met since prior to the summer recess, and that the industry roundtable on HRT supplies has been delayed a number of times.”
The Committee’s report, published in July 2022, argued that the overlooked impact of menopause is causing the UK economy to ‘haemorrhage talent’.
It also argued that the current law does not sufficiently protect women experiencing menopause and does not offer proper redress to those who suffer menopause related discrimination, with evidence that many women have to demonstrate their menopausal symptoms amount to a disability to get redress.
Though the Government said it has accepted, partly accepted or accepted in principle six of the recommendations, it comes under criticism from the Committee for not actually committing to any new work in response to the report.
Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP, said: “This belated response to our report is a missed opportunity to protect vast numbers of talented and experienced women from leaving the workforce, and leaves me unconvinced that menopause is a Government priority.
“For too long women have faced stigma, shame and dismissive attitudes when it comes to menopause. The evidence to our inquiry was crystal clear that urgent action was needed across healthcare and work settings to properly address women’s needs, yet Government progress has been glacial and its response complacent.
“Its refusal to even consult on reforming equalities law doesn’t make sense and we urge it to look again.”
Scotland’s teacher unions have expressed their collective anger and disappointment with the continuing lack of progress in pay negotiations with the Scottish Government and COSLA.
An SNCT negotiating meeting that was held last Friday, which was again labelled as “positive and constructive” by the Scottish Government and COSLA, once again failed to result in any progress whatsoever toward a new pay offer to Scotland’s teachers.
While trade unions remain committed to a fair pay agreement, negotiated through the SNCT, teachers’ representatives are increasingly questioning whether the Scottish Government and COSLA truly share this commitment. No further negotiation meetings of the SNCT are currently scheduled.
Commenting, Des Morris – EIS Salaries Convener and Chair of the Teachers’ Side of the SNCT – said, “It is becoming increasingly clear that both the Scottish Government and COSLA have little or no interest in finding the modest additional funding that could bring a new offer to the table to potentially end this pay dispute.
“Five months since their sub-inflationary 5% pay offer was overwhelmingly rejected by teachers, and more than two months since a rehashed version of the same offer was again rejected, the Scottish Government and COSLA brought absolutely nothing new to the table in last week’s meeting – just a stubborn stance that Scotland’s teachers should accept 5% which represents yet another substantial real-terms pay cut that only further erodes the value of teachers’ pay.
“The reality is that the union side wants to negotiate, and has offered a wide range of suggestions towards the potential ‘compromise’ that the First Minister and her Cabinet Secretary have said is needed to reach agreement.
“We have had absolutely no proposals from the Scottish Government and COSLA, however – merely the same old tired lines, and a repeated and unreasonable insistence that all of the ‘compromise’ must come from Scotland’s teachers.”
Mr Morris added, “It is disingenuous and unacceptable for the Scottish Government and COSLA to continue to misrepresent negotiations as positive and constructive.
“The cold, hard truth is that, despite all their public claims of ‘working tirelessly’ and ‘turning over every stone’ to reach agreement, their entrenched position and refusal to offer any compromise at all leaves teachers, children and young people, and their parents facing the prospect of continuing and escalating strike action in Scotland’s schools.
“The ongoing and planned strike action is entirely avoidable. The Scottish Government and COSLA need to come forward with a genuinely improved offer that unions can put to our members.”
SSTA to Take Two Further Days of Strike Action
The SSTA National Executive has, following another failed SNCT negotiating meeting, authorised two days of strike action on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.
The SSTA will be joining members of sister unions in national strike action in a coordinated campaign of industrial action.
Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary said: “The SSTA has taken a measured approach to industrial action due to the impact it would have on the pupils preparing for exams.
“The deliberate inaction of the Scottish Government and COSLA just shows the lack of respect and level of contempt, not only for teachers, but for the pupils they teach, forcing teachers to take more strike action. The Scottish Government and its accomplice COSLA are failing education, having deliberately refused to put any new money on the table since August last year”.
“The Scottish Government and COSLA were adamant during the pandemic that schools needed to be kept open and education needed to be continued regardless of the risks and dangers that teachers were placed in. These are the same people who have allowed this pay dispute to continue, see schools closed and pupils’ education disrupted. How can these people sit on their hands and seek compromise when they have refused to make any movement in five months?”
“How many more times are teachers to hear the same old rhetoric ‘we value teachers, and we are putting together a new offer’ only for another week to pass without a penny being put on the table. The SSTA has no option but to step up its industrial action”.
Catherine Nicol, SSTAPresident said. “Teacher unions are standing together and, with the support of the public and parents, we will succeed. However, we urge parents and members of the public to help by demanding action from the First Minister and Councils and get teachers back to school teaching”.
“Teachers have been propping up the education system for years by working many more hours a week than they are paid for and this goodwill is running out due to the arrogance of the employers and government who appear to want to break teachers resolve. I can assure them teachers are standing firm to get a fair pay settlement. Teachers need to say ‘No to Free Overtime’ and demand a salary that will retain and recruit teachers for the future”.
For those non whisky drinkers, why not look at some handcrafted, small batch Scottish Gin. Caorunn (pronounced ka-roon) Gin comes from the Gaelic name for Rowan Berry, which grows wild within a 5-minute walk from the distillery.
The Rowan Berry is infused with five other locally foraged botanicals including dandelion leaf, heather, Coul blush apple and bog myrtle along with six traditional gin botanicals and natural Scottish water. Fresh and floral on the nose, this gin is clean, sweet, full-bodied and aromatic with a long-lasting dry and crisp finish.
Burns Cocktail (Cranachan Cocktail)
35ml Caorunn
15ml Calvados
15ml Honey syrup
15ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 Fresh raspberries
20ml Pasteurised egg white
Top soda
Shake first 6 ingredients and double strain into hi-ball. Fill glass with ice and top with soda water. Garnish with large cinnamon stick and cinnamon sugar dusting.
When I was looking into Burns Night drinks, I found that a lot of them were very focussed on quite masculine flavours and were generally whisky heavy (writes ELLIE TAYLOR).
I looked into doing a savoury cocktail to sit alongside the traditional Burns meal but felt as though this was a little bit too obvious and wanted to do something that was a bit more relevant.
Cranachan came up a lot as the most popular Scottish dessert associated with traditional meals so I thought I would play about with the flavours and ingredients found within that. Rather than using apple as a direct ingredient, I used Calvados (apple brandy) to bring apple into the recipe and also bring additional complexity and depth. Apple and raspberry is a really classic Scottish flavour combination.
This is a drink designed to appeal to a wide audience, to be enjoyed after your traditional Scottish meal and one which stays true to Caorunn.
